It is with great pride and pleasure that the West Melbourne Police Department Awards Committee has chosen Detective Donovan Brickhouse as our Officer of the Year for 2017. Detective Brickhouse is highly motivated, thorough, dedicated, and very professional.

During the 2017 year he has demonstrated his outstanding performance time and time again; he was awarded a Certificate of Commendation in the first and third quarter of the year, received 5 Unit Citations, and 2 Letters of Appreciation. Detective Brickhouse was assigned 68 cases in 2017; 20 of which were closed by arrest, 8 were cleared with an arrest warrant, and he filed for 6 capiases. His 2017 clearance rate was 69%. Detective Brickhouse works diligently, no matter the circumstances, lack of evidence or how daunting the tasks may be, to find closure for families and justice for victims.

Below is an overview of Detective Brickhouse’s exemplary activity during 2017:

Lewd Lascivious Molestation: Victim is a juvenile under 12 years of age who alleged abuse inflicted by her step-father. Multiple interviews were conducted and eventually a very emotional and difficult controlled phone call identified evidence of abuse. State Attorney is filing and prosecution is pending.

Armed Burglary, Grand Theft of Firearms turned to Armed Robbery: Original case involved two juveniles burglarizing a residence and stealing a firearm. Those juveniles attempted to sell the stolen firearm and one of them became a victim of armed robbery when the buyer battered him and stole the weapon. In all, three juveniles were arrested and three 3 firearms were recovered. Detective Brickhouse got full confessions from all of the defendants and they were subsequently convicted.

Death Investigation: A badly decomposed body of an adult male was found, in a vehicle, with no identification and no obvious cause of death. This investigation led Detective Brickhouse to sources in Oklahoma, Texas, Georgia, Ohio, West Virginia, and South Florida trying to identify the deceased. After a full month of following leads, he made a positive ID and the death was ruled an accidental overdose.

Grand Theft and Embezzlement: A trusted, now terminated, employee was found to have stolen approximately $1,500,000.00 from his employer. Mounds of evidence have been collected including employee records, bank statements, interviews with victims and suspect, computer hard drives, and ongoing lists of the suspect’s personal spending. This case is still under investigation.

Lewd and Lascivious Molestation: Victim was a female under the age of 12. The 19 year old suspect gave a full confession during an interview with Detective Brickhouse and was arrested without incident.

Sexual Battery and False Imprisonment of a Juvenile: Victim is a 14 years old female, accused is a 67 year old male. After the initial report, Detective Brickhouse worked tirelessly to obtain search warrants for the incident location and on two of the suspect’s cell phones. Within 24 hours search warrants were served to collect evidence and incriminating statements were made by the suspect who was taken into custody without incident. Prosecution is pending.

Death Investigation: A male was found floating in a neighborhood pond and after a brief investigation, a stolen vehicle was also recovered in said pond. There was a lot of suspicion, rumors, and social media hype surrounding the deceased and manner of death. After a month of intense investigation including numerous interviews with family and friends, Detective Brickhouse found no evidence of foul play and the death was ruled an accidental drowning by the Medical Examiner’s Office.

In conclusion, Detective Brickhouse is well deserving of Officer of the Year for 2017 for his outstanding performance.

JOSEPH LAROSAOfficer of the Year 2016andFlorida Police Chiefs AssociationLee McGehee Police Officer of the Year 2016

MICHELLE PAGEOfficer of the Year 2015

KIMBERLY WEEKSOfficer of the Year 2014
and
State Attorney's Office
National Crime Victims' Week
Officer of the Year 2015

ANTONIO ROMANOOfficer of the Year 2013

HARVEY WHITNEYOfficer of the Year 2012

KEN SELLSOfficer of the Year 2011

JUSTIN CANTEES Officer of the Year 2010
and
Florida Police Chiefs Association
Lee McGehee Police Officer
of the Year 2010

SEAN CRONIN Officer of the Year 2009
and
MADD Outstanding Dedication to DUI Enforcement Award

JASON CAMPBELL Officer of the Year 2008andFlorida Police Chiefs AssociationLee McGehee Police Officer of the Year 2008

CARLOS NAVEDO Officer of the Year 2007

JENNIFER DICK Officer of the Year 2006
and
Brevard County Association of Chiefs of Police 2006
Distinguished Service Award